Archived from groups: alt.games.video.sega-dreamcast (
More info?)
<shaqattack1992-newsgroups@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1109973657.006947.241650@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I've been a big fan of the Dreamcast since the beginning. I had a
> dial-up connection before, but I just got DSL. I see broadband adapters
> on ebay and was wondering if there any use for it. Are people still
> running servers for DC games? Is there anything left to play online?
> Any information would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chad
There are still a few games (i.e., "Quake") that can be played with the BBA.
There are also "homebrew applications" that can do various things with it as
well.
I have a BBA, but rarely use it for gaming anymore. I mainly just use it
turn a Dreamcast into a dumb web/email box. The Dreamcast with the BBA is
hidden inside my entertainment center, running Planetweb's 3.0 browser.
Internet pipe to the BBA is coming from a DLink DWL-810AP+ ethernet-wireless
bridge, feeding of a wireless router in another location. For controller
interface, I'm have a DC-PS2 adapter plugged into the DC, which in turn has
the base for a wireless PS2 controller connected. I keep Planetweb running
24/7, with bookmarks configured for quick access to web sites that deliver
news, weather, sports, ect.
Whole idea being that, while watching TV, can switch to the DC during
commercials and quickly pull up news, weather, sports, or maybe read/send
some emails -- without getting off the couch. Can also play MP3's (up to 4
Mbytes, anyway) that are stored on a fileserver also on the WLAN. Yep, its
for being lazy. :^)
Is the BBA worth the $100+ that it goes for on Ebay? I don't know. If you
want to collect DC hardware and/or play around with some DC networking, I
suppose so. I don't have any interest in selling mine on Ebay, so suppose
that means I value it at $100+.
One word of caution though, should you decide to hunt a BBA down:
There were actually two different "broadband" adapters for the Dreamcast
that eventually found their way being sold and traded across the internet.
One was the official Sega Dreamcast "Broadband Adapter" and the other was
the "Lan Adapter". The "Lan Adapter" was an adapter manufactured prior to
the "Broadband Adapter". It was used first by developers in Japan and
eventually sold in Japan for use only with the Japanese browsers (Dreamkey
and Passport). This adapter does not support any games -- NTSC or Japanese.
To be able to use broadband with any games or use the NTSC browsers, you
must have the "Broadband Adapter".
The model numbers are:
Lan Adapter: HIT:0300/1 (Last digit being 0 or 1)
Broadband Adapter: HIT:0400/1 (Last digit being 0 or 1)
Over the last few years, there have been several "less-than-honest"
retailers/ebayers that have sold the "Lan Adapter" as a "Broadband Adapter".
("Buyrite" immediately comes to mind.)
If you are going to throw $100+ out, make sure it is a HIT:0400/1. Every
now and then, out of curiosity, I check to see what this goes for on Ebay.
Seems to keep increasing as time goes by. Also noticed that most of the
product descriptions on Ebay, by the honest sellers, are now specifically
stating that the BBA that have up for auction is a HIT:0400/1.
Cheers,
-Eric
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